LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 55 - War on Crime (4)
Chapter 55: War on Crime (4)
Baek Jin-woo left everything to Hun-gyo.
Truly, our versatile Hun-gyo.
It was incredibly convenient.
Every time he thought about it, it was baffling how someone like him had once been ranked E-grade.
– Everyone, come out.
Hun-gyo opened all the solitary cells.
Although he usually avoided speaking in front of people, he made an exception this time.
From Baek Jin-woo’s perspective, they weren’t “people.”
They were clear “enemies” who had threatened his family’s lives, marked for “elimination.”
“Mmgh!”
“Mmphh!”
Among the players gagged and groaning were Oh Ji-myung and Park Ho-seop.
‘Those two, really…’
Baek Jin-woo shook his head.
It seemed fate had bound them together with bad ties.
– Lamba.
– Yes!
– Remove their blindfolds and gags.
– Wh-why me?!
– …?
When Hun-gyo narrowed his eyes and stared at her—
– Ah, fine! I’ll do it! But you owe me a one-hour break from training tomorrow, okay?!
Rip, rip!
Under Hun-gyo’s overwhelming charisma, Lamba reluctantly flitted around, tearing away the blindfolds.
“Ugh!”
“…You bastards, just kill me already!”
Among the freed gangsters, some lashed out angrily.
“P-please, spare me!”
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know!”
Others prostrated themselves on the ground, begging for mercy.
Then there was one who—
“Flame Bird!”
—immediately summoned his creature.
But such actions were utterly futile.
Slice!
The B-grade Flame Bird was struck down the moment it was summoned, cut down by Hun-gyo’s sword.
Simultaneously—
– I was going to explain first, but it seems there’s no need. Watch closely.
– From this moment, anyone who summons a creature, utters a word, or even attempts suicide will meet the same fate.
Snap!
Hun-gyo lightly snapped his fingers and struck the player’s pressure point.
And then—
“Aaaaargh!”
The gangster writhed like a worm, bound hand and foot.
The pain was so intense his eyes bulged like snails, and fluids dripped from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
He even wet himself with yellow urine.
“…!”
“…!”
The gangsters who had been considering summoning their creatures froze in place.
It wasn’t just the sight of pain; the man looked like he was genuinely on the verge of dying.
“Stop! Please, stop!”
– The technique is called Muscle Tearing and Bone Dislocating. It twists the muscles and bones, causing immense pain.
– I recommend you try it out if you’re curious.
Hun-gyo’s voice remained calm.
– I’ll only perform it for exactly one minute each time.
– Any longer than five minutes, and you could lose your mind or become permanently vegetative. Proceed with caution.
It was a chilling statement.
What kind of pain could possibly cause such a reaction?
Amidst the agonizing screams that echoed through the prison, one minute passed.
Snap!
Hun-gyo released the pressure point.
“Haaah… haaah…”
The player collapsed onto the floor, drooling and gasping for breath.
The gang members fell silent, too terrified to utter a word.
– Good.
Hun-gyo nodded in satisfaction.
For the players, this was hell.
Even the fact that a summon was speaking didn’t intrigue them; their fear was overwhelming.
What did it matter in the face of potential death?
– From now on, I’ll give each of you a chance to speak.
– The information we need is simple: the location of Boss Jo Ji-hak, the whereabouts of the gang leaders, and details about the general gang members.
– If you don’t have the information or refuse to talk…
Snap!
Hun-gyo struck the pressure points of two players.
Oh Ji-myung and Park Ho-seop.
“Aaaargh!”
“Damn it! Why us?! Aaagh!”
The two Rankers flailed like insects caught in fire.
– This will happen to you.
Hun-gyo didn’t torture them for specific information.
They weren’t gang members, so there was nothing to extract from them.
This was purely out of spite.
He’d been displeased with the way they had looked at his lord last time.
“Aaaaargh!”
As the screams continued, the gang members’ gazes filled with growing terror.
Even without experiencing it firsthand, it was horrifying.
For those who had endured it, it was even worse.
– You, start talking.
Hun-gyo’s information-gathering session began.
Hun-gyo’s interrogation methods were extraordinary.
Forget an hour; it took just 30 minutes for them to spill everything, gasping for breath.
What loyalty could there be among criminals?
With just one round of Muscle Tearing and Bone Dislocating, they were ready to confess even Jo Ji-hak’s twisted hobbies.
Some even desperately searched their minds for additional details to offer.
– Disappointing.
Dissatisfied with their lack of resolve, Hun-gyo administered another round of Muscle Tearing and Bone Dislocating.
Two minutes for each.
The space was filled with screams in an instant.
– My lord.
“Yes.”
Baek Jin-woo didn’t look away.
He took in the sight of their suffering.
It was a kind of adaptation process.
The world had changed, and such things would likely occur again.
‘I have to face reality.’
If you ran away in fear—
You would simply be victimized in this new world.
– With this information, we can proceed.
Hun-gyo passed the gathered intel to Explosion Dragon, who diligently wrote it down nearby.
“Okay.”
Baek Jin-woo nodded.
He had promised Park Chang-seok one hour.
Now it was time to return everyone to their cells and leave.
– Lamba.
– What now?!
– Tie them back up.
– Ugh, fine!
Although she grumbled, Lamba had no choice.
Other summons each had their roles.
Even this menial task had to be done by someone.
Park Du-pal was a member of the gang.
Not an officer, just a regular member—a bottom-rung grunt.
As part of a cell-structured gang, the information he knew was extremely limited.
‘Damn it.’
Currently, he was biting his thumbnail in anxiety.
Baek Jin-woo had declared war on crime, giving them one day to surrender.
‘Honestly, I barely qualify as a gang member.’
What had he done?
At most, he’d intimidated two regular players to extort some money.
He’d never killed anyone, nor did he have the temperament for it.
‘Ah, whatever.’
So he made a decision.
He would not surrender.
‘Do they really think they’ll go after every grunt? They’ll probably just capture Jo Ji-hak and call it a day.’
The next day—
Park Du-pal deeply regretted his decision.
Baek Jin-woo opened the door to his house and stepped outside.
“Park Doo-pal?”
Someone suddenly fell from the sky and spoke.
“You didn’t surrender, huh?”
“Wha, what’s going on!”
Startled, Park Doo-pal looked at the person, growing even more shocked.
‘Ba, Baek Jin-woo?’
How could Baek Jin-woo, a player, fly all the way here and recognize him?
Park Doo-pal, mouth agape, froze in place.
“I don’t have time, so I’ll make it brief. Surrender by tomorrow. Tomorrow, you have two minutes. Just so you know, it will increase by a minute each day.”
“…Huh?”
What was that supposed to mean?
Two minutes tomorrow?
Then what about today?
Confused, he stood still, but Baek Jin-woo was already flying off on a wyvern, heading elsewhere.
Well, whatever.
It was fine.
He’d figure out what that meant soon enough.
From the sky, Hun-gyo’s special tool swooped down with a swoosh! It landed on Park Doo-pal’s acupoints.
Having used the Bone Cruncher technique hundreds of times already, Hun-gyo had gained considerable proficiency.
Now, he could control the technique to release the pressure on the acupoints after just one minute.
“What, what are you doing… Aaaagh!”
Park Doo-pal, experiencing this pain for the first time in his life, twisted his body.
He no longer cared about his dignity.
Screaming, he rolled around on the ground.
It was already painful just to suffer a fracture, but with his bones twisted and muscles moving uncontrollably, how much worse was the pain?
The agony lasted exactly one minute.
It was only then that Park Doo-pal understood the true meaning behind Baek Jin-woo’s words.
‘He meant I should surrender on my own.’
If he didn’t surrender today?
Tomorrow would be two minutes. The day after would be three.
‘Insane.’
Park Doo-pal shook his head.
This was impossible.
Even just one minute of this pain made him want to die—now he was being told to endure two?
‘I’ll surrender.’
The charge?
‘Let’s just say everything!’
This person knew even his rank as a lowly gang member.
With such powerful intelligence, there was no way lying would end well.
Rushing back home to wash up, Park Doo-pal immediately headed to the police station.
* * *
In a short period, South Korea was experiencing massive changes.
[Phenomenon Occurs Nationwide!]
[Criminals flocking to police stations, is Baek Jin-woo that terrifying?]
[Criminal Kim Mo, “Please, I’ll surrender. If I don’t, I’ll die!” Caught trembling and crying.]
Angry, Baek Jin-woo canceled all his plans.
He was so furious that he didn’t even bother spinning the Wheel of the Weekly Dungeon.
Through torture, he extracted information from the criminals and, with the help of the headquarters, found their addresses.
After that?
He went straight to them and dealt with them personally.
Any gang member with even the smallest trace of affiliation was found and punished.
What about the higher-ups?
He found a new list and updated the information.
└ Wow, Baek Jin-woo is seriously scary, huh?
└ I saw Baek Jin-woo in my neighborhood. He suddenly did something to a guy and that person was in horrible pain. Turns out, he was a gang member. He immediately surrendered, though. Chills…
└ At this rate, won’t all the criminals get caught?
└ His actions are insane, though.
└ For real, God Jin-woo; even if I were a gang member, I’d feel suffocated.
└ Here’s a lesson: Don’t mess with him, but never touch his family.
The rumors spread quickly through the community.
Gang members who had been caught were the first to panic, and even those who hadn’t begun to feel the heat.
One by one, the roots of crime were being pulled up.
* * *
And at that time.
“…What should we do?”
The abandoned building that was the designated meeting place.
A figure voiced in a worried tone.
“Our gang that we’ve built up is crumbling all at once.”
“…Yeah.”
George Hak frowned.
He had thought about calling the executives together, but most of them had already surrendered.
‘What the hell is going on?’
How is he getting this information so quickly and catching us?
George Hak couldn’t understand.
He had never felt this kind of powerlessness even against the state or major guilds… But this Baek Jin-woo, what in the world is he?
“What about the executives?”
“The ones who could gather have all assembled and are waiting. Now we have to make a decision.”
“I see.”
Fight or run.
George Hak wasn’t a fool.
He knew better than anyone that their current forces were no match for Baek Jin-woo.
‘…Did I act too rashly?’
No.
In the end, the result would have been the same.
The more Baek Jin-woo took control, the more the headquarters would have moved boldly.
If there was one thing he regretted.
‘Not going there in person.’
He should have gone and kidnapped one of Baek Jin-woo’s close associates.
In this situation, he should have bought some time through threats…
“Master Ji-hak!”
It was then.
A commotion came from below the abandoned building.
“Big, big trouble! Come down and see!”
What is it?
George Hak hurriedly stuck his head out, and he was taken aback.
Because below, he saw Baek Jin-woo, the player, dismounting from a wyvern.
Thud!
Baek Jin-woo landed on the ground and looked around.
“You guys are all here, huh?”
Then he smiled.
“I’ll give you ten seconds. Gather in front of me. Anyone who isn’t here in five minutes gets a five-minute penalty.”
At the same time.
Flames surged!
The abandoned building was surrounded by a crimson blaze.
The infamous Explosive Fire Dragon Sage’s flames.
Watching that, George Hak thought to himself.
“Shit, is this it?”